Means for handling sealing liquid for gas holders



F. H. WAGNER July 29; 1930.

MEM JS FOR HANDLING SEALING LIQUID FOR GAS HOLDERS Filed Aug. 19, 1927 Patented July 29, 1930 UNITED STATES TE roFFIcE FREDERICK H. WAGNER, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE BARTLETT HAYWARD COMPANY, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A; CORPORATION or MARY- LAND :MEANS, FOR HANDLING SEALING LIQUID non GAS notnnns Application filed August 19, 1927. Serial No. 214,162.

This invention pertains to an improved apparatus for the handling of the sealing medium employed in conjunction with the socalled waterless gas holder, such as is dis closed for instance in Letters Patent to J agschitz N 0. 1,275,696, dated August 13th, 1918.

As will be seen upon reference to said patent, a liquid is employed as a sealing medium between the movable piston or closure andthe wall of the holder, such liquid being in most instances tar. 'Tar as asealing mediumhas been found satisfactory in most instances, but under certain conditions some difiiculty in its utilization obtains :this due to the nature of-the tar, climatic conditions, and other factors.

Generally speaking, the main difficulty arises because of the fact that the tar emulsifies with water ofcondensation or light oils within the system and by reason of such emulsification its effectiveness as a sealing medium is lowered. Further, it-is common in the installation of a waterless gas holder to employ pumps, which pumps, particularly where they are of the gear type, tend to emulsify the liquids and hence lower theeffectiveness of the tar. 1

The main object of the present invention is to provide a system whereby all pumps, as such, are done away with and to employ air pressure to force the tar into the upper portion of the holder where it passes into the channel formed around'the closure or piston of the holder which distributes it against the face of the wall of the holder.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic system vision or attendance on the orator is minimized or. in other words, to have the system automatic. a A still further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the tar or other sealing fluid, if it becomes emulsified, may be passed through a de-emulsifier prior to its being forcedback again to the upper portion of the holder. g p With these and other objects in view, reference is had to the annexed drawing wherein there is shown in the figure so much of a systerm for handling the tar. as is necessary to a whereby superpart of the opfull understanding of the invention parts being shown in section and the rest in elevation. In said figure 1 denotes the base of a water lessholder of the type above mentioned and 2 a portion of the shell or wall thereof.

Sealing fluid or tar collects in a trough in the lower portion of the gas holder as it passes down along the inner wall thereof from the closure and isdrawn 01f therefrom from timeto time and recirculated back to the upper portion of the holder where it is discharged into an annular channel 8 located at the upper portion-of the holder from which it is conducted back to the trough which is associated with the piston or closure'O inany suitable or convenient manner. This is common practice. In the present instance, however, the tar which collects in the trough at the bottom of the holder passes outwardly therefrom through a pipe 41, having aninverted mouth, into a tank 5, the lower end of the pipe extending well down toward the bottom of the tank. I

Aweir 6 is located in the pipe 4 thus keeping the inner portionof the pipe full of tar at all times. The flow of the tar through the pipe is controlled by a valve 7. p It will be appreciated, of course, that any number of these tanks 5 maybe spaced around the base of the holder and suitable pipes as 4 will extend thereto from the holder as indicated in the drawing.

A pressure equalizing pipe Sextends from the chambenin which the weir 6 is mounted, to the-interior ofthe holder thus permitting the tar to'flow through the pipe 4 when the valve 7. is open.

through a branch pipe 10,-said pipes being provided respectively with hand operated de-emulsifier 13,

'16 are'both open. The purified tar entering tank may be forced by air pressure, in a manner to be shortly set forth, through a with a third port, intermediate the connecpipe 17 to the distributing channel 3. It will of course be understood that where'the tar (or other sealing liquid) is not emulsified the and as a consequence tank 5?, will be cut out, this by closing valves 12 and 1-5 and opening valve 11.

Itis designed to have air under oompres sion'at all times in order that'the tar may be forced upwardly through pipe 9, (or pipes 9 where a plurality of tanks as 5 are employe or upwardly through'pipe 17. To this end I provide a compressed air. reservoir 18 and automatic means .of any approved type for maintainingthe requisite pressure therein.

A pipe 19 opens into the tank from a com press'or (not shown) and leads 20 and 21 extending to the compressor motor are connccted to the terminals of a solenoid controlled switch 22 adapted, when theswitch is closed, to connect the leads with the power lines 23 and 24. r i e Extending upwardly from reservoir 18 is a cylinder, 25 in which is mounted a piston 26, the rod 27 whereof extends upwardly and is connected'with av switch. 28 which controls the current passing from the main 1111623 and 24 through leads 29 and 30 leading to the winding of the solenoid of switch 22. A spring 27 associated with rod 27 tends to forcethe rod and piston downwardly and to open the switch 28.

As will be readily understood, when the air pressure withinthe reservoir 18 falls below the desired amount the. compressor will be automatically thrown into operation and continue to function until the pressure is reestablished within the reservoir.

Extending from the reservoir is a pipe 31 provided with a branch 32 which extends'into the upper portion of the tank 5. The branch 32 is provided with'a valve 33 and a'valve 34 is also provided in a branch line or vent pipe 35 extending from the branch 32 between the tank and the valve 33. Similarly the tank 5 is connected to the pipe 31 and the similar parts are lettered the same with the exponent a added thereto. 2

The valves 33 and34 are interconnected so that as oneis'opened the other isclosed. The

same is trueof the valves 33 and 34*. To this end I provide a piston rod 36 suitably :guided and having links37and 38 connected to said rod and respectively to the valves 33 and 34. Rod 36 is connected to a piston working in an air cylinder 39 having air pipes 40 a and 41 opening into the opposite ends thereof ,and leading to lines 42 and 43. Said pipes 42 and 43 are connected at their lower ends in the hook-up as shown with'the opposite ends of an air cylinder 44, a piston rod 45 whereof is connected to the valve 7. The lines 42 and'43 at their opposite'e'ndsext'end into a valve casing 46 in iwhich'is mounted a slide valve 47 actuated and controlled 'by a solenoid 48'. The valve casing46 is provided tions of the lines 42 and 43, which third port is in communication with an air line 49 con nected by a branch 50 into the pipe 31 so that air under pressure is always present in said line 4950. This arrangement is duplicated in connection with the tank 5 and the valve 16, heretoforereferred'to, is connected with the;pist0n rod 45 of the air cylinder 44 Mounted in the tank 5 is a float 51, the float being attached to a rod 52 which latter passes through suitable guides 53 and 54. The rod at its upper end carries two pins 55 and 56 adapted to cooperate with a lever or arm 57 con nected to the fulcrum 58 of a mercoid switch 59 locatedwithin the tank. The terminals of the switch, which are adapted to be bridged by the mercury when the switch is in its elevated position or that shown in full lines, are connected to leads 60 and 61, the former including'the winding ofthe solenoid 48 and both of said leads being connected to the power lines 23 and 24. The same float and switch installation is shown in connection with the tank 5 and similar parts are similarly lettered with the exponent a added thereto.

A manually controlled switch 62 is placed in the-lines ,23 and 24 so that by opening said switch the lines to the compressor will be broken and hence the apparatus as a whole shut down owing to the fact that the air pressure in the reservoir 18 will fall.

.It is to be understood that the showing is more or less diagrammatic.

In operation, and assuming the tank 5 is to be called upon to supply the necessary tar or sealing liquid to the channel 3 and it being assumed that air under sufficient pressure is present in the reservoir 18 and that the valve 33 is open and 34 closed, air under pressure will be exerted upon the tar within the tank andas a consequence the tar will be forced upi V wardly through the pipe 9, the valve 11 at such time being open, and the valve 12 closed, the tar will pass into the channel 3. This, of course, assumes that the circuit is closed by the switch 59 so that the valve 47 will be elevated and air under pressure allowed to pass through line 49 and line 42 to the upper end of the cylinder 44 forcing the rod 45 downwardly'and closing valve 7.

At thistime the bottom of the cylinder "44 valve 33 is open and From this it will be 'seenthat when the valve is open and the vent will be vented as will also the bottom oi the cylinder 39, hencethe valve 33 will beopen and the valve 34 closed as above specified. In other words, when the valve 7 is closed the the valve 38 closed.

7 is closed the valve 33 through the pipe 35 is stopped by theclosing olthe valve 34, hence the air upon the top of the tarin the tank 5 will force" pressure acting the tar upwardly through the pipe 9, which at that time is the only escapefor the tar.

As the tank is partially emptied the float 51 drops andthe guide rod is lowered therewith. lhe pin 55 coming into contact with the arm or lever 57 rocks the switch 59 and breaks the circuit de-energizingthe coil 48 and thereby causing the valve 47 to shift, venting pipe 42, and likewise 40, and allowing pressure to pass from pipe 49 through the branches 41 and 43 to the lower ends of the respective cylinders 39 and 44 thereby actua ing the piston rods 36 and 45 and securing a reversal of the position of the various valves.

At such time valve 7 is open, the vent valve 34 open, and the inlet air valve 33 closed. Under these conditions tar will flow into the tank 5 by gravity and will continue so to flow until the float 51 is again raisedand the switcl159 brought into action. a

When, as above noted, the tar becomes emulsified, through one or another reason, it may be caused to flow from the tank 5 to the (lo-emulsifier 13, valve 11 being closed and valve 12 open. Valve 15 will likewise be openand the separated or cleaned tar will pass from the de-emulsifier through pipe 14 into the tank 5. scribed in connection with the tank 5, will be caused to function in the same manner through the rising and lowering of the float 51 in the tank 5, the float causing the switch 59 to function as described in connection with the tank 5. i

It will, of course, be appreciated that when the tar has been brought back to its normal condition the tank 5 and the de-emulsifier may be cut out.

. What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a gas holderhaving a' movable closure adapted to be sealed by a liquid which trickles down the Walls of the holder and collects at the base thereof; means for withdrawing such liquid as gathers in the lower portion of the holder; means-for applying air under pressure to such withdrawn liquid to force the same to the upper portion of the holder; and means operating in timed relation with the ir a 1 in means for cut- 1 7 a PP y name tothls specification.

1 having a movable closure adapted to be sealed At such times the valves, as desaid air motors; a float mounted in an electric switch adapted to be brought into by such liquid, the combination of such holder; a tank; a valved conduit extending from the lower portion of the holder to said tank; a conduit extendingfrom the lower portion of said tank to the upper part of the holder; a valved pipe extending from a source of air under compression to the upper portion of the tank; a valved controlled vent for said tank; and means controlled by the height of the liquid in the tank for actuating the valves in proper sequence. y a 3. In combinationwith a gas holder having a movable closure adapted to be sealed by a liquid; a tank located adjacent the base of the holder; a pipe extending from the base of the holder to the lower portion of the tank serving to withdraw the liquid from the holdor to the tank; a valve therein; a pipe leading from the tank to the upper portion of the holder; a source of air under compression; a conduit leading therefrom to the upper poropening the valve in the air conduit, andlikewise securing a reverse operation of said valves when the level of the liquid falls Within the tank. 7 i

4. In an apparatus forelevating a sealing liquid to the upper portion of a gasholder 7 having a movable closure adapted to be sealed by said liquid, the combination of such holder; a tank; a conduit extending from the lower portion of the holder to said tank; a valve for, opening and closing said conduit; a pipe extending from the lower portion of the tank to the upper portion of the holder; a source of air under compression; a conduit leading from said source to the upper portion oi the tank; a valve for opening and closing said conduit; an air vent for said tank; a valve for controlling said vent; an air motor interconnected with the air conduit valve and the air exhaust valve; a second air motor connected with the valve controlling the con duit leading from the holder to the tank; air lines connected to the source of air under pressure and to the air motors, aforesaid; a valve for controlling the passage of air to and from the tank;

operation by the movement of said float ;'and an electric motor for controlling the valve located in the air lines leading to the air motors, said motor and electric switch being connected to a common circuit.

In testimony whereof I have signed my FREDERICK H. WAGNER.

9 tion of the tank; a valve in said conduit; an 7 I V 

